|
Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2015 18:01:40 GMT -5
If we have to take a step back while you are sick, then it's okay. We just don't want the little ones to get sick.
I hope you are feeling better. It's really no fun to be sick. read When my children were sick, I use then a Sesame Street book called "It's no fun to be sick". Then they got Ginger ale with a cherry.
I love tea, any kind except Chamomile. Have you seen the website Teavana? They also have some small shops in a few locations. I love the flower teas, that blossom when you pour hot water over them. I'm crazy about teapots, teacups and a lovely formal high tea. Between ferrets and tea, my friends think I'm rather odd. We won't even talk about Broadway and show tunes. lol, I've never been cool.
Okay, test question: Aside from Liver, please name three secreting organs.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2015 1:58:00 GMT -5
I've been feeling better, then worse, then better, and over and over again all day. I've been laying in bed and rewatching greys anatomy all day. I don't like chamomile much either, although I do drink it sometimes. I prefer iced tea most of the time, but I love hot tea when I'm sick. We actually have a teavana in the mall I go to here. It's a small store, but it's a nice place. It's right next to my favorite store, lush. Have you heard of it? They sell natural soaps and bath bombs and face masks, all kinds of stuff like that. I buy my hair dye and shampoo and conditioner there. I'm the same way. My friends think I'm weird for liking things like ferrets and rats. I'm known as 'the ferret girl' by a lot of people.
Uterus, kidney and brain. I almost got some chicken uterus when I was at the Asian store getting hearts. I wasn't sure if it counted as an organ. I love seeing all of the organs.
I've been wanting to finally open the levels in the ferret's cage but I know I shouldn't now since I'm sick. I'm just excited for them to have the whole cage for all six of them. Also, I saw the girls in a bed together earlier! It still surprises me so much when I see them together
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2015 18:17:12 GMT -5
Very good. You get an A Plus :thumbsup: I think it's fun seeing all the organs also. I'm sorry that you're still not feeling well. We had a scheduled doctor's appointment today and I kept looking around thinking, "Nobody even try to sneeze or cough near me". I haven't heard of Lush, I'll look it up. I'm so jealous that you have a Teavana. There actually is one here in Tennessee, but it's about two hours away in a nice upscale mall. I'll get there eventually. That's the crummy thing about being sick. You have extra time on your hands, but shouldn't be doing chores, just resting and getting better. I've never seen even one episode of Grey's Anatomy. I keep meaning to try it. It's on Netflix, maybe I'll give it a shot this weekend. It's suppose to be grey and rainy, and in keeping with the grey theme. Well, it's officially the weekend. I'd ask if you have any fun plans, but that wouldn't be nice, since you're sick.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2015 21:59:59 GMT -5
I'll be going to see the doctor on monday if I'm still sick but lets hope it doesn't last that long. I've been giving the ferrets their soup as often as I can, but I keep forgetting to take some out to thaw and I keep sleeping all the time so it's just been easier to give them kibble most of the time. We'll get back to working on slivers again soon hopefully. Its one of my favorite shows. I think it's supposed to snow here this weekend. I love the snow, but I don't like cold that much. Well, I plan on just resting all weekend. That can be fun sometimes My friend brought another deer liver for me, so I'll probably try to cut that up sometime next week. I'm kind of excited She also said I might be getting some duck sometime soon.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2015 0:13:54 GMT -5
I still have a nearly full bag of kibble, but I'm looking at FDR to have just in case, for times like this when it's harder for me to feed them. I'd rather not use it, but I like being prepared and I don't want to give them kibble again. I got a sample of some stella & chewy's once and Bentley liked it, but I think it was the rabbit one for dogs. It should have 95% or more meat, right? Is there anything else I should be looking at when looking at FDR? I'm going to France for a week in April, so I've also been trying to figure out how they'll be fed, who'll feed them, etc. Maybe they'll be eating bones and everything by then I'm going to talk to my mom about it. She may be willing to feed them if I prepare everything and she doesn't actually have to touch it. She's said before that she won't touch it, but sometimes she says things and then changes it later. If she doesn't want to do it, I'll ask my dad. He's not really an animal person, but he's the one who cooks in my house so he's more willing to deal with meat. He actually probably won't mind it as long as he doesn't actually have to touch the ferrets. He's usually the one who buys most of the meat for them because he works at a grocery store and he's the one who drives me to I guess we'll just have to wait and see how far we get in the switch by then and figure out what to do. I just wanted to let you know in advance I guess. And here's a cute picture of Bentley, Hershey and Nestle from a few days ago just its cute I'm not sure what Hershey and Bentley were doing, but it looks like they were kissing, and I love how Nestle is looking right at the camera. I love taking pictures of them. I got a fancy camera for my birthday just to use to take ferret pictures
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2015 2:49:12 GMT -5
I took some medicine earlier and I guess its helping. I went into the ferret room to give Bentley his medicine and ended up cleaning up the room and their cage and I opened up the levels in the cage, so now they have the whole thing. I counted and theres 8 hammocks, 2 beds and a sleep sack in their cage. Yet they still all sleep in one hammock most of the time They were all eating well. Lately they've been eating around 8-12 oz per day. Bentley still doesn't eat much. I've been trying to spoon feed him, but I'll do it more once I'm better. I haven't been adding much crushed up kibble at all anymore and he doesn't seem to mind. I think we'll be ready to really push the slivers. They're all eating at least some from the bowl and they've all eaten at least some slivers
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2015 12:47:42 GMT -5
Good Morning Those are such cute picturs. What pretty little ones. I used FDR for almost a year, while I added ferrets and learned about feeding raw. I used Stella and Chewy's duck,duck,good and tummy ticklin turkey. I also bought Whole life Cod and Natures Variety instinct raw boost bites and Wysong Archetypal 1, which is FDR. You want grain free, always buy the feline version and check the ingredients and avoid any fillers. It should be pure FDR. Always hydrate it and remember that it is raw, so wash your hands after handling it. I still keep a bag or two for emergencies and of course, if there was a tornado. That's a consideration in our part of the country. You're going to France? How wonderful. I'm very jealous. I've been to alot of places all over the world, but never to France. My family was French back in the 1100's thru 1300's. Where will you be going? We should have everyone on Frankenprey by then. The simplest thing to do is to preportion each meal and mark the baggie. Then build the menu schedule and all that you have to do, is to have your Father pull out each preportioned meal and let it thaw. Simple and easy. If everyone is eating some slivers, let's up the amount of slivers. Decrease the amount of soup. We want them to build their jaw strength and get use to chewing. With Bentley, you'll have to depend on hand feeding. It's harder but we have to get him to eat. He probably doesn't have much of an appetite, so work on more frequent feedings and less amounts at one meal. We may discover that Bentley is fond on one food and that will help. Ferrets tend to have favorite foods and go crazy over one certain food. We need to find his.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2015 1:09:15 GMT -5
I think I'm going to get Stella & Chewy's Duck, Duck, Goose and Chick, Chick, Chicken. I'm going to check a few stores around here and see what they have before I order it though.
I'm not exactly sure where I'm going. My friend is the one planning it. I haven't traveled out of the country much, just to Canada because I didn't have a passport until a few months ago. I have travelled all over the eastern part of the country though and I've been to Texas and Chicago. I even went to Tennessee once, although it was only the airport. I have family in South Carolina so I go there at least once or twice a year. I love traveling.
Thats what I plan on doing, to make it as simple as possible.
I haven't really been doing much with slivers in the past few days since I've been sick, but I've been getting better, so tomorrow I'll cut up some slivers and start working with them on them.
How often should I be feeding him? Is every 4 hours good? Of course there will have to be one time during the day that there's 6 hours in between feedings(since I won't be home) but for the rest of the day and night, I can do every 4 hours.
I weighed them all, but it was after they ate so it may be off. Hershey and Snowy especially ate a lot. Bentley - 1 lb 12 oz Hershey - 2 lbs 14 oz Yogi - 2 lbs 4 oz(I think maybe my last weight on him was wrong? or after he ate?) Snowy - 3 lbs 2 oz Penny - 1 lb 10.5 oz Nestle - 1 lb 12 oz
Penny has lost weight, but I can tell she's just losing the extra fat she has. She used to have a little fat pocket on her belly and now that's mostly gone. Nestle is also becoming leaner. I'll try to take new dangling and from above pictures of them too tomorrow hopefully
And I have a soup question. I make soup with 16 ounces of chicken breast/thigh, 4 chicken hearts, and 2 ounces of liver. Does that sound right? I'm just not 100% about the liver
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2015 2:51:08 GMT -5
I keep forgetting things I wanted to say/ask. I'm not really feeding them 'meals' right now, just filling their bowls whenever they're empty. Is that okay? Or should I start trying to feed them just two or three meals per day? I have to go to the vet on Monday or Tuesday(the only days my vet works) to get antibiotics for a rat, so I may bring Yogi just to get checked out. He does seem kind of skinny and he's had rat tail for a few months. He's had a lower BG(around 80-90) for around a year or so, but it's always stayed around the same. I haven't tested him in a while though. Here's another picture too, of Hershey and Nestle eating earlier: I'm going to try to start getting them to eat in the cage because only one of my cats can get into the cage to steal their food, but she won't anyway. I would love to switch the cats too, but my mom thinks they'll get sick. I do give one of them some hearts and wings and necks every once in a while. He always steals a few hearts when I'm putting them in bags to freeze them.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2015 12:19:47 GMT -5
I'm so sorry that I missed yesterday. Paul and I took the day off and went ferretshopping and treated ourselves to lunch and a movie. We had some snow and it was beautiful. We were listening to the radio and I hope that you all are okay. You're getting slammed, as I understand it. Maybe you'll get a few days off and get to have some ferret fun.
I think I'm going to get Stella & Chewy's Duck, Duck, Goose and Chick, Chick, Chicken. I'm going to check a few stores around here and see what they have before I order it though.
Unless you have a holistic pet store, you will probably have to order it online. Amazon has some good prices. Mine love the Duck,duck,goose but not the chicken. They do like the tummy ticklin turkey.
I love traveling.
I do too. That's why I joined the Air Force. Well, that and to pay for my college. I've been all over the world and loved it, so much. I even lived in Korea for a year. The Air Force is so different from the other services. We didn't march or do details. I worked in a Command Center and saw so many interesting things, flew for few years and retired from Special Ops. That gives you an idea of what the real military is like. We just saw American Sniper, and it was so well done. I knew Men like that.
How often should I be feeding him? Is every 4 hours good? Of course there will have to be one time during the day that there's 6 hours in between feedings(since I won't be home) but for the rest of the day and night, I can do every 4 hours.
I want to confirm his feeding schedule with someone who has more experience with Insulinoma than I do. My Ponce had it, but we lost him to Lymphoma quickly, so I didn't have alot of time to learn about Insulinoma. I would think ideally, every four hours and you can leave food out. I recommend that you do. It's just that we can't trust Bentley to eat on his own, if he doesn't feel well.
I weighed them all, but it was after they ate so it may be off. Hershey and Snowy especially ate a lot.
Their weights all look pretty good. Penny and Nestle are probably losing the kibble belly. They will become lean, and then more muscular.
And I have a soup question. I make soup with 16 ounces of chicken breast/thigh, 4 chicken hearts, and 2 ounces of liver. Does that sound right? I'm just not 100% about the liver
You are basically doubling the soup recipe. So, use 16 ounces of chicken thigh. Thigh is fattier and a better choice. It's also less expensive. 4 Hearts is fine. Remember that Heart is eliminated daily and won't build up in their system. You only need 1 liver. The soupie recipe asks for 1/2 chicken liver, so doubled is one whole liver. You're adding the eggshell powder, right? Double the 1/2 tsp to one teaspoon.
I'm not really feeding them 'meals' right now, just filling their bowls whenever they're empty. Is that okay? Or should I start trying to feed them just two or three meals per day?
That's fine. Right now, they may want to eat more and more often. So leaving food and filling their bowl, when it's empty is a very good idea. Later when they move to Frankenprey, they will probably only eat two meals a day, maybe one. I still leave food out at all times. My Mentor recommended it and I find it works well in a free roam house.
so I may bring Yogi just to get checked out. He does seem kind of skinny and he's had rat tail for a few months. He's had a lower BG(around 80-90) for around a year or so, but it's always stayed around the same. I haven't tested him in a while though.
I think that's a very good idea. Take your meter with you and get it calibrated. Maybe you could also take your scale and measure it against your vet's. I hope it's just rat tail and not Adrenal. His numbers are not too low, so fingers crossed that it's not Insulinoma also.
I love seeing pictures of them eating. Hershey and Nestle have their eyes closed and looked like they are just delighting in the yummy soup.
Cats and Ferrets are similar in body type. Your cats would benefit from raw, but let your Mom watch the switch with the ferrets. Once she sees the benefits and understands the science behind it, she may approve. You can also tell her that judging from all the big fat barn cats around here, they do just fine on raw. lol
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2015 13:58:12 GMT -5
Its pretty snowy here, but nothing like what they expected. I live on an island so it's always less snowy because we get some warmth from the water, apparently. There's maybe a foot and a half of snow outside. I let Snowy out to play in it and brought some in for the rest of them. Nestle peed in the snow, of course. I took some pictures as well. I'll make sure to show you some once I put them on my computer. I stayed home yesterday and I have today off and maybe tomorrow, I'm not sure yet, so I'm getting lots of rest and ferret time. I'm finally feeling a lot better. I haven't left my house since Friday though. It's nice to be inside and relaxing, but almost four days inside is a bit much.
I have family who are/were in the Air Force. My aunt I think worked in a medical center in Germany, or something like that. And her daughters and their husbands are all in the Air Force too.
Alright, sounds good. My Frankie had insulinoma too, but I didn't do much special with his diet after he got to 2 pounds. Before he got up to 2 pounds, I was feeding him hills science diet a/d wet food mixed with chicken baby food. It's a lot different though because he was on kibble and I didn't know much about raw then.
So I should put half of the liver I put in now. That makes more sense. And yeah, I put 1 tsp of bone meal in there
I didn't get to bring Yogi to the vet because of the storm, so that'll have to wait until next week. I got my meter calibrated last time we were there. It's only 3 points less than theirs. Bringing the scale to get calibrated is a good idea though. I didn't think of that. It seems like I'm always at the vet lately. I guess that's what happens when you have so many animals though.
I'm starting to notice even more of a coat change in Nestle. I need to find a picture from when I got her to compare. She had such thin fur and it was matted in some spots.
We actually have one cat(the one that eats the chicken hearts and wings) who goes outside a lot and I know he kills and eats shrews and little birds and mice and rats outside. I'm sure my mom will let me switch them once she sees the difference in the ferrets. They'll definitely be a lot easier to switch than the ferrets.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2015 10:00:46 GMT -5
My vet is ordering critical care for Bentley because he's concerned about his lack of weight gain. I've been feeding him every 4 or 5 hours, but he only eats maybe .2 oz per feeding, if I force him to. He'll eat hardly anything at all if I don't force it. Occasionally he'll eat more, but it's not often. He eats kibble fine though. If i give him kibble, he'll eat a lot of it. He's just such a stubborn little one. The rest have been eating soup with no water added from a bowl well. Hershey has seemed so sad lately... He doesn't play as much and he keeps just sitting off to the side and watching the others play. He has such a sad face when he does that I don't think he's sick or anything. I currently have him in my room exploring to try to cheer him up. He can't stay for long though because I have the rats and a chinchilla in my room. I just don't know why he'd be like acting that... Do you have any ideas?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2015 10:58:54 GMT -5
I wasn't familiar with Critical Care for pets. I looked up the ingredients, and this is in it:
Water, Pork Liver, Poultry Liver, Chicken, Corn Flour, Pork Protein Isolate, Fish Oil, Chicken Liver Flavor, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Guar Gum, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Magnesium Oxide, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Beta Carotene, Manganous Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid.
I'm not crazy that corn flour and guar gum are in the CC.
There is another called Carnivore Care, and this has been used by ferrents on the forum. Here is a list of the ingredients:
Dried Whole Egg, Poultry Meal, Fish Oil, Tricalcium Phosphate, Silicone Dioxide, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Biotin, Taurine, Hydrolyzed Yeast, Sodium Benzoate, L-carnitine, L-Ascorbyl-2- Monophosphate (Vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Pyroxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement
No corn flour or guar gum. I would think this is a better product. The corn flour and guar gum are both starches and will make his BG fluctuate.
Hershey isn't himself, hmmm...Does he have a nice pink nose, paws and ears. Is he sleeping more? What about his poops, do they look normal? I think we should trust our ferrent instincts. He's around five, maybe a vet visit would help.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2015 12:33:36 GMT -5
Ah, sorry, I meant carnivore care. Oxbow critical care is the equivalent for herbivores, which I use for some of my other animals.
Everything else seems normal. Everyones poops seem normal, so that means his most likely are normal. It's so hard to keep track of the poops unless I follow them around. I'll make an appointment with the vet since I wanted to get Yogi seen anyway.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2015 13:00:56 GMT -5
Oh good. I was afraid that if he had already ordered it, you'd have to pay for it.
I know what you mean about poops. It's hard with five free roam ferrets to know who pooped where. I just keep an eye out and watch for funky poops. If need be, I could separate them for a few hours until each has pooped.
It can't hurt to have Nestle looked at. It may just be the weather or something simple, but it's best to trust your instincts and get him checked over. Especially since you and your dad were sick. A simple course of antibiotics may make him feel more like himself.
|
|